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Well BlizzCon, or BlizzConline as it was called this year, is done and dusted until 2022. For the uninitiated BlizzCon is like Christmas for fans of the gaming behemoth - Blizzard Entertainment. It offers news and trailers for all of their current games as well as future releases. It’s usually a huge live event! There are usually crowds of gamers and cosplayers showing up to celebrate everything Blizzard has to offer. Sadly, due to the pandemic, it was scaled back to an online-only event. But Blizzard still put on a great show and threw out plenty of announcements, so without further ado, here’s a rundown of what you may have missed.
Blizzard Arcade Collection Released
During the opening ceremony Blizzard President J. Allen Brack announced Blizzard Arcade Collection. A compilation of three classic games from the early years of Blizzard Entertainment. Which includes remasters for The Lost Vikings, Rock N Roll Racing, and Blackthorne.
Each of the three games come in its original form as well as a “definitive edition”. These feature modern bells and whistles including save states and the ability to rewind gameplay. It’s available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch and is backwards compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands -- Chains of Domination Update
The first major update for World of Warcraft Shadowlands, Chains of Domination, is on the way. The update will introduce a new raid and mega-dungeon, as well as new story elements. There will also be a ton of new loot to keep players on the grind.
The Burning Crusade Returns to World of Warcraft Classic
The throwback version of Blizzard Entertainment’s unstoppable MMO will bring back the original’s expansion - the Burning Crusade, which was originally released in 2007.
Hearthstone’s Year of the Gryphon
The next major expansion coming to Blizzard’s card battler, Hearthstone, is called Forged in the Barrens. It will bring 135 new cards & 10 legendary mercenary characters. With the Year of the Gryphon, the season will also add in a ‘Core Set’ - a revised deck of 235 cards that will incorporate new and old favourites, along with new legendary dragon cards.
New Class for Diablo IV
In the newest trailer for Diablo IV, Blizzard unveiled the new Rogue class and showed off some gameplay with the class. Which blends ranged bow combat with melee attacks and an emphasis on speed and tactics.
Diablo II: Resurrected Announced
The much-rumoured Diablo II remaster has finally been revealed. It will be developed by Blizzard (obviously) and Vicarious Visions, who have built a reputation for banging out high quality remasters.
The remaster of the iconic action-RPG will enhance the game’s visual style and add in some quality-of-life improvements for the original’s gameplay. Fingers-crossed the cow level makes a triumphant return too.
It will be released this year on PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, and Nintendo Switch, with cross-play between platforms.
Behind the Scenes with Overwatch II
To avoid fan disappointment Blizzard gave an advanced warning that they wouldn’t be announcing a release date for the much-anticipated Overwatch II. But that didn’t stop them from showcasing as much as possible for the iconic team-based hero shooter. They gave us behind the scenes ViDocs, which showed some excellent footage of the upcoming sequel. There were also classes on how to draw some of the amazing characters from Overwatch’s ever-growing roster and an always hilarious talk with some of the voice actors.
It’s Not Too Late
If you’d like to watch all of the events from the two-day convention yourself, head over to the BlizzCon website where you can find archived videos of everything that took place. Under normal circumstances, this would be locked behind a paywall, but with 2021’s free format, you can view everything as much as you like.
Did you watch any of BlizzCon? Which announcement got you the most excited? Let us know on social media!